SFG Issue 14: On Higher Ground
Hosted and curated by June Neely
Welcome to the Story For Good newsletter!
What’s inside?
🎙️Ep 11 is out! This week’s guest is Mark Wright from Higher Ground
🎟️ Updated virtual and In-person impact events, festivals, and opportunities.
🚨 The latest curated articles about Hollywood and Impact
👀 Check out: Fancy Dance
🎥 Resources for impactful filmmaking
Ep 11: Mark Wright on Higher Ground and Diverse Storytelling
In this episode, I talk with Mark Wright. Mark is the VP of Film at Higher Ground. He’s produced various projects like They Cloned Tyrone, Tigertail, Young Wild Free, and most recently Rustin. Today we dive into his career and how to tell impactful and diverse stories.
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If you enjoy the podcast and newsletter, consider helping to support their creation. Every bit helps! Plus every for donation 1% of your purchase goes to removing CO₂ from the atmosphere.
🔷 IMPACT REPORT: #LATERISTOOLATE The Impact Report showcases the collaborative efforts that influenced global negotiations at the United Nations COP28 UAE. Through strategic communication and collective action, the campaign aimed to address the urgent need for climate action and transition away from fossil fuels.
🔷 ‘Twisters’ Director on Not Mentioning Climate Change: Movies Shouldn’t “Preach a Message” Director Lee Isaac Chung on why his meteorological disaster movie doesn't reference global warming.
🔷 How Science Fiction Can Inspire Environmentalism and Climate Action Harnessing the power of story may help us survive and thrive on a climate-altered planet.
🔷 ‘It affects everything’: why is Hollywood so scared to tackle the climate crisis? Twisters is the latest in a long line of movies that fail to address the environmental emergency – experts say it’s a missed opportunity
🔷These TV shows are leaving emissions on the cutting room floor
🔷Apple and FX’s Diverse Storytelling Leads to Historic Emmy Nominations Success “Moreover, in a hard-won battle for representation, the Indigenous community and women of color have made significant strides, suggesting that the television landscape has finally turned a corner regarding diversity and inclusion.”
🔷Audiences Are Waiting for Hollywood to Greenlight Disability This report reveals how film & tv that includes authentic disability representation has the power to drive streaming subscriptions, audience engagement, and movie ticket sales.
👥 DIALOG Mentorship Program - 8/30
The mentorship program is a transformative initiative designed to foster connections for mid-level executives from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) backgrounds in programming and production. Deadline for Entries is Friday, August 30, 2024
🌎 Climate Week NYC - 9/22-9/29
This the largest annual climate event of its kind, bringing together over 600 events and activities across the City of New York – in person, hybrid and online.
🌎+💰SIE Society Impact + Profit Conference - 12/5-12/6
Learn how you can implement a “double bottom line” on your projects, meet producers and storytellers who specialize in impact and build powerful relationships that will take your ventures to another level of effectiveness, profitability and social benefit.
📝 NRDC 2025 CLIMATE STORYTELLING FELLOWSHIP - 12/5
The Fellowship will grant $20,000 each to three writers to support revision of a feature screenplay or pilot that engages with climate change in a compelling way.
Fancy Dance - Now on Apple TV+
Since her sister’s disappearance, Jax (Lily Gladstone) has cared for her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) by scraping by on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma. Every spare minute goes into finding her missing sister while also helping Roki prepare for an upcoming powwow. At the risk of Jax losing custody to Roki’s grandfather, the pair hit the road and scour the backcountry to track down Roki’s mother in time for the powwow. What begins as a search gradually turns into a far deeper investigation into the complexities and contradictions of Indigenous women moving through a colonized world while at the mercy of a failed justice system.
FOR MORE RESOURCES VISIT OUR RESOURCES PAGE.
The Good Energy Playbook
An open-source digital guide to portraying climate change on-screen, including story inspiration, cheat sheets, character profiles, solutions, and projections into the future.
The Climate Reality Check
The Climate Reality Check is exactly that: a reality check for narratives. You can use it to test any story set on Earth, which takes place now, in the recent past, or in the future. It doesn't apply to high fantasy or to stories set on other planets or in the distant past.
Hollywood Health & Society
They provide the entertainment industry with accurate and up-to-date information for storylines on health, safety, and security.
Green Production Guide
Your guide to sustainable production. Developed by film industry leaders with environmental expertise, the Green Production Guide offers the tools, resources, and vendors you need to reduce the environmental impact of your production.